BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Opposition to the war in Afghanistan is at an all-time high, with 63 percent of the public now opposed to U.S. involvement there, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey. Just 35 percent of survey respondents say they still support U.S. involvement.

The increase in opposition to U.S. involvement comes as pessimism about how the war is going is rising. According to a poll done Dec. 17-19, 56 percent of the public believes that "things are going badly for the U.S. in Afghanistan."

"The war has not always been unpopular -- back in March, when a majority thought that the war was going well, the country was evenly divided. But by September, the number who said that things were going well for the U.S. in Afghanistan had dropped to 44 percent, and opposition to the war had grown to 58 percent," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Today, with Americans remaining pessimistic about the situation in Afghanistan, they also remain opposed to the war."

There are, however, at least two groups where there is still a slim majority of support for the war -- the Republican Party establishment, and Tea Party activists. Here's a look at the partisan breakdown of supporters and oppositionists:

TEA PARTY: 52 percent favor, 45 percent oppose.
REPUBLICAN: 52 percent favor, 44 percent oppose.

CONSERVATIVE: 49 percent favor, 48 percent oppose.

DEMOCRAT: 24 percent favor, 74 percent oppose.

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LIBERAL: 20 percent favor, 80 percent oppose.

INDEPENDENT: 35 percent favor, 63 percent oppose.

MODERATE: 32 percent favor, 66 percent oppose.


Income level also seems to play a significant role: 70 percent of people making under $50,000 annually said they oppose the war; only 54 percent of those making more than $50,000 annually said the same thing.

As the Los-Angeles Times reports, "This has been the war's deadliest year for noncombatants and combatants alike, with civilian casualties for the first 10 months of this year running 20% higher than the same period a year ago, according to the most recent figures available from the United Nations."

The number of foreign troops killed in the nine-year war has hit an all-time high, with more than 700 lives lost. Nearly 500 U.S. servicemembers were killed this past year alone, according to the site iCasualties.org.

A new report by Reporters Without Borders also finds that the country remains dangerous for journalists. There was a "major increase" in the number of journalists kidnapped in 2010, with Afghanistan a hot spot of trouble. "The case of French TV journalists Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier and their three Afghan assistants, held hostage in Afghanistan since 29 December 2009, is the longest abduction in the history of the French media since the end of the 1980s," writes the organization in its report.

There are approximately 140,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan. Last year, President Obama ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops be sent there. He has promised that the United States will begin withdrawing troops in July 2011.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/30/63-percent-of-american-public-opposes-war-afghanistan_n_802765.html

Obama has had his chance to get our troops out of there, but he refuses to do so, instead electing to waste more taxpayer money.

We're never going to make those people like us, and we're never going to change their form of govt.

Its not. But is'nt that what your beloved Bush tried to do in Iraq??

Obama has had his chance to get our troops out of there, but he refuses to do so, instead electing to waste more taxpayer money.

We're never going to make those people like us, and we're never going to change their form of govt.

What do you know about the history of Afghan/American relations?

What happened in Afghanistan in 1911?

It all relates to history
Past, present, and future history is always related.

Those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it.

There was a time in Afghanistan when women could vote and go to school.
They were a monarchy with a Parliamentary Gov like the British.

They were a boundary State during the Cold War and abused by both sides.
They have asked us for help twice. One when the earned their Independence from England in 1919, and once in 1958.
Both times we turned them down.
Both times at a critical junction in their history and development.
Both times Russia, an ally in their Independence, accepted.

The only time we did help was to create the building block for a Terrorist State.

History does matter.

I'm just curious if anyone in our government or military owns a history book. No one has won a war in Afghanistan in over a thousand years. The Soviet union fought in Afghanistan for 9 years until it bankrupt the country. And now we've been there longer. Secure our borders and let them keep killing each other like they have been doing for longer than the United States have existed. Who are we to invade a country and impose our values on a culture that has existed for thousands of years longer than we have.

So we owe them something because of the past??

No, but
we should accept responsibility for the creation of the culture there today.
It wasn't always so. We could have made a difference.
Instead we help create a Terrorist State.
The majority of Afghanis want our help.

It all relates to history
Past, present, and future history is always related.

Those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it.

There was a time in Afghanistan when women could vote and go to school.
They were a monarchy with a Parliamentary Gov like the British.

They were a boundary State during the Cold War and abused by both sides.
They have asked us for help twice. One when the earned their Independence from England in 1919, and once in 1958.
Both times we turned them down.
Both times at a critical junction in their history and development.
Both times Russia, an ally in their Independence, accepted.

The only time we did help was to create the building block for a Terrorist State.

History does matter.

My beloved Bush??